Never Alone
by that ninja kid
Summary: Sakura has spent the last few months almost completely engulfed in her work at the hospital in Konoha. After being ordered to take better care of herself she learns something horrible from Ino. Now she's left with picking up the fragments and moving on.
1. Harsh Reality

**I do not own Naruto and any of it's characters. **

**In this story there was no Uchiha Massacre, and it is Post Shippuden. Most events in Shippuden are not past events in this story. **

**__****These are Sakura's thoughts. ****(Bold and Italics). Read, Review and Enjoy. Not n****ecessarily ********in that order. :]**

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Flash of pink hair dashed down the narrow and crowded hallway. She ran to the emergency room. Her jade eyes alert but the bags under her eyes betrayed her sleepiness. In her scrubs she washed her hands and quickly looked at the wound. The injured ninja had a gash on his torso. She called for nurses to get herbs. They dashed about to find them.

With what little chakra Sakura had left she healed the worse part of the injury. Sweat rolled down her face as she poured everything into it. Her fatigue seemed to extend to her entire body. When the nurses returned Sakura mashed the ingredients together. He seemed exhausted. The poison in his system tired him. She applied the medicinal rub onto his wound. It would clean his blood of any poison.

The pinkette then stitched his wound. The nurses took him to a room to recover in. the pinkette walked to lounge. She poured herself a cup of coffee.

"Sakura," a voice came from the shadows in the room. There in a chair was a blonde woman with her hair pulled back in two ponytails. Her brown eyes took in Sakura's image.

"Tsunade-sama," Sakura bowed her head a little in respect for her teacher. She got her coffee cup going and then turned to face her. "What brings you near coffee?"

"Ha ha Sakura," Tsunade mocked. "Come to my office with me please."

Sakura kept up as well as she could. At this hour it was a miracle she wasn't stopped for advice on treatment or asked to help with an emergency. Sakura pressed on and moved for other doctors and nurses. They seemed to part for Tsunade and close before Sakura could catch up.

Finally Sakura stood opposite of Tsunade at her desk. She sipped her coffee and waited for Tsunade to address the meeting. Her eyes felt heavy and she fought to keep them open.

"Sakura," Tsunade spoke to her apprentice. "You are an excellent medical ninja, but..."

_**But? **_Sakura thought. _**But what?**_ "Hmm?" She decided was safe.

"But you need to keep up on your own health too," said spoke firmly to Sakura. "I can see you haven't slept for awhile and you've used all your chakra. It's amazing your still standing. Sakura you can't do this all the time."

"I'm sorry?" Sakura meant to apologize but it came out as a question. She felt the need to defend herself. It wasn't the best choice for someone who was as tired as her. "Even when my shift ends there are people who need help. I can't just leave them unattended."

"Sakura there are other budding medical ninja here too," Tsunade countered. "They don't get the chance to grow and learn if you do all of the work for them."

Sakura opened her mouth to say something and she stopped herself. She sighed in defeat.

"Go home Sakura," Tsunade ordered. "Go home and rest. Don't come in the rest of the week."

"Tsunade-sama it's only Saturday," Sakura felt compelled to point out. "That only gives me one day."

"No Sakura," Tsunade pointed to a clock on her desk. It was a digital clock and it had the date on it. "It's Sunday. The beginning of a new week. You probably haven't been keeping up with your other training. Go on a mission or two. Do something else for the week. These are my orders."

"Yes Tsunade-sama," Sakura's bow was deep.

Sakura flopped down onto the couch when she entered her apartment. She clicked on the TV and took off her jacket. She didn't change the channel but she laid down and she fell asleep so quickly. Her dream were pointless. It made no sense.

"It's so amazing! And that's not all it can do! Now it's on sale for $49.99! Call in the next seven minutes and get another free!" an enthusiastic voice was the first thing Sakura heard. She instinctively reached out blindly for the remote. Her fingers found it quickly and without opening her eyes she clicked the TV off. She rubbed her eyes and headed for the bathroom. She looked tons better. She had more color to her face. And the bags were gone.

Sakura showered and pulled on her casual clothes. The tan skirt, the black leggings underneath. Her clan shirt, and a white tee shirt beneath it. Her black boots felt worn out. Her hair had grown out some. She left it down for once. Everyday for convenience she put it up to keep it out of the way.

Sakura looked into her fridge to find almost everything was really old. She threw them out and the growling of her stomach made her decide to eat out for breakfast. Sakura picked up her keys and put her wallet in her pocket. She decided to walk into town.

She passed the park, went over the bridge and passed Naruto's favorite ramen shop. His orange and black jumpsuit stood out. His stack of ramen bowls grew until it towered over him. She passed the weapons shop where Tenten was taking in a weapon for repair. Her buns seemed bigger, like her hair had grown longer since they had last talked. The training grounds were visible to her and there she could see Rock Lee doing push up. His arms gave way and then he started to run laps. Maybe she would train with some old friends sometime.

Sakura came to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. Sakura walked in and quickly hid herself from the cashier's view. She pulled out a few flowers and brought them to the counter. Her hungry stomach caught the attention of the flower arranging blonde haired cashier.

"Billboard Brow?" she looked up.

"Ino Pig," Sakura nodded her head in acknowledgment to Ino. "Can you go on a break for breakfast?"

"You mean supper," Ino corrected.

"No-" Sakura went to argue.

"Sakura it's four in the afternoon," Ino pointed to the clock on the wall. "I can assure you nobody is serving breakfast at this hour." She cut the ends off the flowers and put them in a plastic wrap. Then Ino tied a purple ribbon around the bouquet.

"Breakfast, lunch, supper, afternoon tea, I don't care which. I just need food," Sakura had an edge of irritation in her voice. "Please go with me to eat. I haven't seen you in like what? Four days now? I need some girl time-"

Ino hit Sakura in the forehead with a flower.

"Ow," Sakura said with a flat tone. "Ino-"

"It has been longer than that Sakura," Ino said in the same flat tone. "It's been more like two weeks since we last spoke."

"That can't be right," Sakura went over her mental calender and came back to reality confused. "Okay maybe but I'm off work for a week."

"A week?" Ino looked at Sakura shocked. "What contagious disease did you bring into my family's flower shop?" Ino looked at her like she was mad.

"What is with that reaction?" Sakura was irritated.

"It's odd for you to be away from the hospital for even a day," Ino explained. "Let alone you be away for an entire week. Your really dedicated to your work. So dedicated you just don't stop working. I'd go insane working that much."

"Well Ino I think we all know that I am not you," Sakura said as politely and friendly as she could. "Besides I need to get back to training tomorrow. I've forgotten how it feels to make my muscles burn and to feel so at peace with training."

"You are missing out," Ino laughed at her friend. She tossed her apron onto a basket and she led her friend outside to her favorite place. Ino had let Sakura keep the few flowers. Ino knew her friend would pay her back, not only that but Sakura needed girl talk to keep her head on properly.

"I've had my eye on Sai here for a couple of weeks now," Ino and Sakura had eaten and joked and chatted about work for a couple of hours. Now they were at the bar. Both girls were old enough now to drink and talk about what's wrong in their lives like they had thought of doing since they were little.

"Really now?" Sakura cocked her head to the side slightly. This was intriguing news. Sakura was sure Ino was still wild about Sasuke. _**Sasuke. **_She got the little butterfly feelings in her stomach. Sakura thought of the last time she saw him. The last time he called her annoying, or the last time she'd heard any news of her former team mate.

"Sakura? Are you there?" Ino was waving a hand in her face. "Work must have distracted you from your feelings."

"What do you mean by that?" Sakura's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What feelings?"

Ino rolled her eyes. She took another drink and then she began to explain in detail what Sakura had missed from her internal distractions. "Sakura, ever since we were little we've been in love with Sasuke. He's never returned the feelings for either of us. As I was saying while you were off in another thought dimension, Sai reminds me a little of Sasuke. I think it's just sad what happened to him."

"To Sai?" Sakura hadn't heard of anything happening to Sai.

"To Sasuke," Ino corrected. "Maybe it's the similarities between them that makes me attracted to Sai but, I don't know. Seems kind of twisted I think..."

Sakura wasn't looking at Ino anymore. She couldn't hear what she was talking about. Her eyes seemed to focus on nothing and everything. She took a big gulp of her drink and tried to focus on Ino's words.

"Maybe I shouldn't even ask Sai out but I feel like I those similarities are... I just don't know how to put it," Ino shook her head. She completely trailed off. She rambled on about Sai.

"Ino," Sakura said softly. Her focus was way off. The alcohol in her system. She steadied herself in the bar stool by holding onto the counter. "Ino." Sakura said louder.

"What?" Ino faced her friend. She was slightly upset about being interrupted. Her face seemed to show concern for Sakura. "What is it Sakura?"

"What happened to Sasuke?" Sakura said almost inaudibly. Her face looked pale. Almost sickly. Her jade eyes were wide. "Is he okay?"

"You didn't hear?" Ino looked shocked. Pity filled her eyes. "I though for sure you just weren't talking about it because it was painful. That you threw yourself into work because you needed a distraction. In your line of work you should have heard about it when it happened."

"What are you talking about Ino?" Sakura raised her voice. Ino's words told her nothing other than it was bad. "What happened to Sasuke?"

Ino gestured to the bartender to get them more to drink. Her eyes told him all he needed to know. He had to make it quick.

"Sakura, take a deep breath and take a drink," Ino instructed. Sakura's breath began to come faster. She did take a drink and try to focus on steady breathing. Her heart was racing. "Sakura." Ino said softly. Full of concern, sorrow and maybe a hint of regret. "Sasuke died."

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**Thank you for reading. Any reviews are welcome. I hope you enjoyed reading this for there is more to come. **


	2. Numb

**I would like to point out that I do not own Naruto. **

**This is chapter 2. Read, Enjoy, and Review. **

**Please forgive any spelling mistakes. I wrote most of this chapter late at night and I got a little sleepy. **

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The world could be falling to pieces around Sakura and she wouldn't have noticed. The only two words in her mind were _"Sasuke died." _For as long as Sakura could remember he was the one she loved, even if it was one sided. He was what she dreamed of, she had so many dreams where she called him silly for not noticing how he actually loved her sooner, then they would wed. the dreams always ended before he said 'I do.' Sasuke had been the driving force for her to train harder and she became a medical ninja to help her team mates.

Sasuke went on his own missions, he went on missions with higher ranking ninja to help himself advance. Sakura hadn't the chance to prove her strength to him. So then she started to work in the hospital under Tsunade. For the longest time she trained under Tsunade, until she was set loose on her own. Remarkably she handled patients and emergencies quite well. She fell into a set pattern, and then missions were requiring more ninja. More would return injured. Sakura couldn't bare to leave and not help. And so she was sucked into her world of work. The money she earned was incredible, but she'd missed all of her social life.

Sakura hadn't keep in touch with many during the several months of working. She went out with Ino occasionally during that time, but she was always to tired or physically exhausted to really pay attetion or notice her surroundings, what was being said or anything like that. She was so out of it except when she was working. Her work had her full attention. She used every ounce of whatever it took to save the emergencies. Under her care many lived, the ones that didn't make it always seemed to find a way to stick in her mind. Sakura wondered how she let herself get so absorbed in work. How she could have gone on blissfully unaware. Suddenly the drink in front of her didn't seem appealing. Drowning her sorrows with alcohol didn't seem like the right way to deal with the sudden feeling she got.

Sakura didn't touch the drink she had taken a gulp from. Taking some money she placed it on the bar. It was more than enough to cover both her drinks and Ino's. She pushed away her drink and left Ino at the bar. Sakura pushed past all the people chatting with their friends. All the people flirting and making out on the side lines. Their happy existence made her rush. She had to get out of the suffocating atmosphere.

She broke free of the crowd and exited the bar. People were still all over. Sakura walked as fast as she could without passing out or stumbling to much. She had to get home. She felt tired, and especially sick. Passing buildings had closed signs up in the windows. Houses had no lights on. Even the crickets made almost no noise. It was as if the world went silent.

Making it to her apartment Sakura nearly collapsed onto the couch. She ignored the ringing of her phone. Her phone rang several times and then it went to voice mail. Sakura tried to keep herself together. There were only those two words.

Ino would be upset for now. Sakura was sure of that. Once she sobered up though Ino would let it blow over. Ino was good about that. She didn't stay mad long.

Sakura broke into tears. Not loud and awkward sobbing but silent steams of tears. Her heart was aching, and a lump was in her throat. She gave herself a headache, and cried herself to sleep.

_Sakura stood under a cherry blossom tree. It's petals falling like snowflakes all around her. The petals accumulated on the ground, they filled the air and swirled around in the wind. Almost like you could see the wind and the way it moved.  
Sakura's jade eyes were focused on something far away. A tall dark figure. Stepping closer she could see the figure turn and walk away from her. She walked fast following the person practically cloaked in darkness. _

_Suddenly the cherry blossom trees faded into a dark and foreboding forest. It looked like the forest from the chunin exams. The name of the forest eluded her at the moment, though she remembered it wasn't pleasant. She hesitated for a moment. Her eyes focused on a dark spot in what seemed lik e __the pitch black darkness of the forest. _

_She took one step, certain that the figure was Sasuke._

Sakura opened her eyes. Her apartment looked the same as ever only so emptier. She wasn't on the couch anymore. Instead she was lying on the floor. There was a soft buzzing sound. The alarm in her room was buzzing. Six am.

Sakura got up stiffly and pushed the off button on her alarm. She got in the shower and washed away the smells of the bar. She let the water rain down on her until she ran out of warm water. She pulled the clean white towel around her and went to change.

She found the Haruno clan shirt and she pulled it on. Sakura pulled on her black leggings and the tan skirt to go over them. Automatically she reached for her black boots next. The headband was last. She tied it behind her and she avoided staring at her empty distant eyes in the mirror.

Sakura hurried off to the kitchen. She brushed her teeth after having some toast and jelly. She left her house feeling like she was a hollow shell of what she once was. It was to be expected. Sakura remembered learning from Tsunade herself that ninja went through the same grievance steps that anyone else did when they lost a loved one or a team mate. Sakura was somewhere on the numb stage. She looked at the sky to see that it was cloudy overcast. She sighed and left her apartment.

Her feet took her to that familiar training grounds. Sakura didn't care to look at her surroundings. She passed all the familiar buildings she had grown up around. She didn't care to watch any of the happenings around her. She simply continued to put one foot after another. Her eyes were distant and she was so out of it she almost missed it when someone called out her name.

"Sakura!"

She lifted her head and turned. It was someone she had hardly expected to see. Rock Lee jogged to catch up to her. He stopped several feet away from her.

"It is a good morning for training," he said so enthusiastically. "Is that what you are were going to do?" Hie bright round eyes watched her face.

She placed a small fake smile on her face and nodded once.

Rock Lee either ignored this or didn't notice. "Excellent! Would you like to train with me?"

His eyes were expectant of an answer. Sakura looked away from his eyes to his bowl cut. How little he had changed. He had grown taller, the muscles under his clothes looked bigger. Rock Lee is someone Sakura would not like to train with, the reasoning being that his workouts were known as hardcore. Hoping for a distraction from her emotions or lack there of she nodded.

"Right," Lee said. He led the way into a small clearing in the training ground in the forest. There were a few training dummies, jump ropes, weights and shuriken. "Start with whatever you like."

Lee busied himself with doing one thousand push ups. Sakura eyed the dirt path that went through the the clearing.

"Where does that go?" her voice held some curiosity.

"It goes around Konoha," Lee said. "It is excellent for running. If you want I can run with you."

Before he finished Sakura took off running. Her feet hit the soft ground without making much noise. She wasn't jogging, she was running. Her heart began to quicken it's pace to keep up with her. It felt good to feel the burn in her lungs, and also in her legs. The fog in her mind seemed to lift slightly. The wind stung her eyes and made them water. She welcomed the cool air on her skin as she sweat.

She rounded a corner and continued past low shrubs and tall trees. She could see houses through the dense trees and in between the bushes there was a path. Before she could stop her eyes she saw someone walking on the path.

Her eyes caught a glimpse of black eyes and black hair. The image of Sasuke filled her mind. She hadn't stopped running, her distraction made her step in a slight hole. She fell, face first, towards a tree.

There was also a familiar, "Hn."

For a moment she felt disoriented. She felt the rough bark of a tree under the hand she had propping herself up now. She found it odd to see a dark liquid trail down the tree until it stopped. She realized it was her blood. She brought her other hand up to her nose. There was the source of the crimson mystery liquid. She pinched her nose and waited for a moment. Her head was aching and she heard the crunch of sticks beneath someone feet.

A hand was stretched out beside her face. She gave the hand her none bloody hand. With some help she was standing up and she got a good look at him.

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******I also would like to state that I didn't know exactly how to follow the first chapter. I wrote this chapter once, then erased and rewrote it. I did that once more and then I was satified with the chapter. Any suggestions are welcome. I've thought of having her fall in love with someone but I'm having a hard time of deciding who. I have a few of my favorite pairings for her in mind but I welcome anyone's suggestions. Remember to review. Whatever time it is you read this at: Goodnight, Good Morning, Good Afternoon. **


	3. Feeling

**Well here is chapter 3 of Never Alone. Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. Not I. As I always ask, Read, Enjoy, Review.**

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This had to be some form of irony. Sakura looking into the eyes of Itachi. Sasuke resembled his brother so much. Her heart nearly exploded with a new wave of despair. Her bloody nose felt bad, and she brought her hands to her face. Like everyday at the hospital she used the healing palm jutsu to heal the wound. She found it all ironic.

His coal black eyes looked through her for a moment.

"Sorry Itachi-san," Sakura apologized. "I...got distracted." She gave him a halfhearted feeble smile. A breeze rustled the leaves in the trees. Her hair blew back and her jade eyes were very visible to him.

"Nearly all of Sasuke's fan girls came to his funeral," he said. "You were absent."

Sakura flinched slightly at his comment. "I-I didn't know. I only found out last night."

"How did you manage that?" his voice was something that she wished didn't sound so cruel. His black eyes peered into hers.

"I-" Sakura began.

"Sakura!" Rock Lee had burst through the foliage and onto the small path where the two stood. His face was slightly pink and little drops of sweat poured down his face. In that short time Lee had managed to workout well. His eyes were soft and round when he looked at Sakura but when he turned to Itachi his eyes were narrower. He seemed angrier. "You shouldn't be near him Sakura!"

"What?" Sakura was baffled by Lee's outburst. Like he was withholding information behind his statement. "Lee it's okay-"

"No!" Lee shouted. "It's his fault Sasuke is dead Sakura."

Sakura tuned to face Itachi. She was about to ask him if it was true when she saw the indifferent look in his eyes. Something about it looked off on his face. Sakura couldn't believe it, that he would take it this way. Not knowing what to say she stood frozen in place. Her eyes trailed to the trees and the falling leaves. They would change color soon.

"There is somewhere I must be," Itachi left. He practically vanished before their eyes. Nothing but the silence was there to remind them of his presence.

"Lee," Sakura said. She didn't look at him, she focused her eyes on the leaves blowing in the wind. To him Sakura looked both strong and weak. Her expression was one of strength but she seemed shaky everywhere else. "Where you there on that mission?"

"Well of course not Sakura," he nearly laughed at the idea. "But-"

"Then how did you come by that?" Sakura's voice faded into the wind. "How did you hear it? How can you trust that that is what is true? What if your wrong?"

When she asked the last question she turned to face Lee. She walked passed him and her arm brushed lightly against his as she broke into a fast walk away from this path. She left him alone to question what he had heard. What everyone had heard.

**Hours Later**

Sakura managed to train all day. Her head ached with a dull headache. She rubbed her temples trying to send a little push of chakra to clear the dull aching. It worked. She felt like every muscle was on fire. Her legs and arms felt like noodles. She managed barely to walk home. It was dark out, it had been dark for awhile now.

She walked up the stairs to her apartment door and pulled the keys out. Lee had left Sakura alone the rest of her training period. She trained harder than she remember training. It felt good to release the pent up energy she had. Now it was out and she felt so vunerable.

She could vaguely detect a presence in her apartment. She couldn't tell who it was though. She opened the door and walked in. the living room was how she left it. She walked to the hallway. She passed the kitchen and went to look in her bedroom. She pulled out a kunai and before she opened the door she heard a voice that sounded familiar.

"Sakura what's the kunai for?" Kakashi's voice drifted in from behind her.

Sakura jumped out of her skin and flung the kunai straight at him. Lucky for him Kakashi caught the kunai before it hit him in the face as she had targeted. "Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing in my apartment?"

He held out the kunai for her and she took it, "Tsunade asked me to check up on you. She told me she'd heard from Shizune that you were training with Lee. How long have you been training Sakura?"

Sakura stared at the one lazy eyes that everyone saw. His eye showed the concern that she could feel in his voice.

"Sakura?"

"Uh... I was there since early this morning," she pushed past Kakashi and found her way to the kitchen for a glass of water. There were pans and cooking utensils that were dirty. On her kitchen table there was a plate of food. "Did you make food?"

Kakashi stood behind her, "Well I figured you'd be out for a long time and not eat much so I made food, yes. I had two plates but I ate mine already."

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura sat down to try hi cooking. He brought a ice cold glass of water to her in a moment and sat down. He watched as she wolfed down every grain of rice and every morsel of the meat.

"Hungry much?" he chuckled lightly.

Sakura chewed the food and her face was redder.

"Sakura can I ask you something?"

Sakura nodded in response, due to the fact that she was still chewing the food.

"Why is the Hokage so worried about you?" his eye watched as she swallowed the last of her food and she didn't make eye contact.

"It was good Kakashi-sensei," Sakura smiled weakly.

"Sakura I'm not your sensei anymore," he replied. "You didn't answer my question Sakura."

"You knew Kakashi-sensei," she looked at her empty plate.

"Knew what?"

"About Sasuke," she fought the tears. His silence only made it worse. _He didn't know that I just found out. _"Why is it that everyone knew before I did? You would think with my line of work I would have heard something!"

Tears were rolling down her cheek, her hands covered her face. She had fought this for awhile now. It upset her. She hit the table with her fist and it broke under her strength. She didn't stop crying. She stood up and held onto the plate. She was about to throw it when a hand held her wrist.

Sakura turned around to hit Kakashi for stopping her but he pulled her into a hug. The anger that had moments ago boiled her blood died down and turned to despair once again. She collapsed into the hug and clung onto his shirt. She wept for a good long time.

Kakashi hadn't said a word. He didn't know how to comfort her. Her just held onto her as she let everything out. Occasionally he would smooth her hair down. When she had stopped he realized she had fallen asleep. He took that as a sign to put her to bed.

He carried her sleeping body to her bedroom. He didn't change her, he knew if he did she would murder him. He did take her shoes off for her and cover the blanket up to her chin. When he left her room there was a tear that had escaped her sleeping eyes and fallen to the pillow.

"_Kakashi," Tsunade's voice greeted him. _

_"You summoned me?" he asked. _

_"Yes," she closed her eyes for a second and asked Shizune to pour a cup of saki for Kakashi and herself. "Kakashi, I have something for you to do."_

_"A mission?" he asked, curious. _

_"Sort of," Tsunade sipped the saki and a sigh of relief was let out from her lips. "Sakura is very upset about something, would you be able to take care of her for awhile? I fear she won't take good __care of herself for a bit. I ordered her to leave the hospital for awhile. I have the feeling that when she trains she'll push herself to hard and exhaust herself and forget to eat or something. Just make sure she's okay. Stay as long as you think she needs you."_

_"Yes Hokage," he nodded and turned to leave. _

_"Kakashi, one last thing," he turned at her words._

_"Yes?" _

_"Thank you," Tsunade smiled. "Sakura is almost like a daughter to me. Take good care of her." _

_"Yes Hokage," Kakashi left her alone with his cup of untouched saki. Tsunade promptly grabbed it and downed the cup. She laughed when Shizune made a sound of disapproval. _

**Thanks for reading everyone. I hope you liked it, and please review. I love to hear your thoughts about my stories. **


	4. Self Conflict

**Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. **

**So here we are at chapter 4 of this story. Read, Enjoy, Review. It makes my world go round. :3**

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Sakura had a hard time sleeping, she seemed to have one of those dreams where no matter how hard she ran she couldn't move fast enough. She had shot up in bed when she finally got caught. It was something monstrous. It had blood all over it and she had seen something in it's mouth. A torn fragment of clothing, the torn fragment held the Uchiha crest upon it.

Her eyes were dry but she was sweating bullets and Kakashi was standing next to her bed. She was breathing heavy and she wiped away the sweat. Her room was relatively cool. She could see from the corner of her eyes one of Kakashi's hands holding a cup of steaming hot tea for her. She took it muttering a word of thanks to him. He left her alone. Her sheets were soft and warm. The comforter was fluffy and smooth. The pink made her feel very aqt home. Even with the unnerving dream she got up after she finished the tea.

Sakura grabbed clothes and took it with her to the bathroom. She pulled off her sweaty clothes that stuck to her skin. She showered and let the warm water melt away her fears of the dream. She finally could feel the stiff soreness of her muscles. They cried out in pain. She had overdone the training but she didn't want to let it get to her.

She patted herself dry and dressed into a simply outfit she had. It was a pink tank top that had the Haruno symbol on the back. She had tan shorts and she decided to keep her hair down. She hadn't seen it down for a long time. And she noticed how long it had gotten.

Walking out she could see Kakashi putting a plate in the sink.

"Good morning Sakura," his visible eyes creased in the familiar way, letting her know he was smiling. Another plate of food was on the table. Again he ate without her.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked.

"It's just Kakashi remember Sakura?" he replied.

She ignored it, "Why are you still here? Not that I don't appreciate real food, it's just that I figured you'd be gone ore have a mission to do. Something better than checking up on me."

He looked her in the eyes and he walked up. "You hair looks nice when it';s down." he ruffled her hair and went into the living room. She mumbled another thanks and sat down to eat. It reminded her of how team seven was always curious about what was under his mask. If she had gotten done in the shower sooner perhaps she could have seen it. His face.

She ate the food and cleaned the dishes. Once she was done she went to sit in the living with Kakashi. "I thought you'd want to train again today." His voice wafted to her.

She plopped down into the armchair. Her legs hung over the side and she let her head fall over the other side. "I overdid my training yesterday," she sighed. "Kakashi-sensei, what do you look like under the mask?"

His eye left the page of his pervy book, "Why do you ask Sakura?"

"It was something Naruto, Sasuke and I always wondered," she said honestly. "I just wondered if you'd ever show one of us." she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't ask that kind of thing of you Kakashi-sensei. I know you'd never show us."

Kakashi watched her. She tried to fight the feeling of sorrow and she won, she stayed in control. Kakashi admired her strength, physically and mentally.

"My closest friends don't even know what I look like Sakura," he replied to her comment.

"Do you keep everyone at a distance like that?" she had her eyes focused on his one visible eye. "Why do you do that? When we all first met you you wouldn't tell us what you liked or disliked. It's like you don't want to let us know you. It's almost like... like..."

Sakura's voice had trailed off.

_Like __**him?**_ Kakashi had thought, finishing her sentence.

"Why do you need to know what I look like?" his voice sounded irritated. "What difference does it make? Why does it matter what I like and don't you all found out some of those things with time, didn't you?"

"What we learned most about you sensei is that your always late, and you love those pervy books that Jiraiya writes," Sakura said firmly. She was trying to defend herself from him. "Why is this making you so upset? Is it because it's true?"

Kakashi stood up. He was opening the door to leave her apartment when she shouted at him, "Kakashi wait!" It was too late, he was gone from sight.

Sakura stood up to walk to the door but instead she nearly broke down in tears.

"Why?" she asked herself. "Why is it when someone is kind to me I'm mean to them? Why is it when someone is a total jerk to me I fall in love?" Sakura contemplated this for hours. She noticed this pattern. In her early genin years she was obsessed and in love with Sasuke who acted like a jerk to her and almost anyone. Here Naruto, Lee, and Kakashi had always been nice to her, treated her with kindness and she had in someway, at some point, been mean to them.

Sakura found herself hours later practicing on a tree. She had no chakra behind her hits but by the end of the day her arms and legs were so weak and sore and they ached. Her hands were worst, they were bleeding, she had millions of splinters and her eyes were red and puffy. She took bandages out of her pack and covered her hands. She went to the only place she knew was open so late at night. Ichiraku's Ramen.

**At Ichiraku's Ramen Shop**

Sakura ducked below the low curtain and sat down in the first empty spot she saw. She didn't even notice who else was there. A bowl of her favorite ramen was placed before her. It was beef ramen. She broke her chopsticks and sipped the hot tea placed before her before eating the noodles.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto's voice broke into her thoughts.

"Hey Naruto!" Sakura smiled her best and coated her voice with fake happiness.

"Are you still upset Sakura-chan?" he ignored the fake happy greeting she gave him.

"..." she stared at the meat floating in her noodles and thought about it. "Yes, but I'm not as numb as I was before."

"If you need to talk, Sakura-chan, I'm always here," he smiled encouragingly. He had sat himself right next to her. She smiled genuinely and gave him a quick hug. It was unlike her but she wanted to prove that she could be kind.

"Thanks Naruto," she added quickly. "I appreciate it."

Naruto blushed lightly and laughed, "It's no problem Sakura-chan! I was upset when I was told too. I tried really hard not to cry at his funeral. You remember the shinobi rule. I'm not the only one who cried though."

"You cried Naruto?" she sounded shocked, she shouldn't have been but she was. She brushed a strand of pink hair behind her ear as he spoke.

"Of course," he smiled. "Sasuke is like a brother to me, even though he already has a brother."

"Naruto," Sakura looked up from the bowl of ramen to his blue eyes. "Do you believe what you've heard? That it's because of Itachi that Sasuke died?"

"No," Naruto answered quickly. "Itachi is his family, his own brother, from what I have heard Sasuke looked up to him a lot. It doesn't seem right that it would be his fault you know?"

Sakura smiled, "That is exactly what I was thinking." She took her chopsticks and dug into the still steaming bowl of ramen. The broth was rich the noodles were perfect. She chatted about little things with Naruto while he racked up his bowl count. After Sakura's second bowl she patted her stomach in content.

"I'll pay for your ramen too Sakura-chan," Naruto offered.

"Heavens no Naruto!" she said. "It'd make your already huge bill even bigger."

"I insist," he continued. "It's the least I can do." She opened her mouth to protest once more when a hand patted her bandaged hand. She winced. "Sakura-chan, what happened to your hands?"

"I practiced on a tree for awhile," she left out the part about Kakashi. She tried to pull her hand away but he began to unwrap it. She could tell why he wanted to. Blood had soaked into the bandages. What had been white was crimson.

"Sakura-chan this is horrible, you should have someone check it out," she pulled her hand away when he said this.

"It's fine Naruto," she pulled out a new bandage to wrap her hand. She winced as she wrapped it and she smiled at him. "Really, I'm fine."

"Sakura-chan," he said softly. "Please go to the hospital with me."

She was about to protest when he tossed a wad of money on the counter and tugged on her shirt to followed him. Not wanting her favorite tank top to get ripped she followed. Personally she had found away to dull the pain. If she thought of something else, something that made her upset with herself, it seemed as if the pain wasn't so bad.

The doors opened because Naruto had pushed them open. He pushed her into the waiting room and tried to stop the nurses walking by. "Excuse me, um, hello? Excuse can you help us?"

"Naruto," Sakura stopped him. "Let me get someone."

He nodded and followed her. She walked to the front countered and asked to see the next available medical ninja. She explained it wasn't an emergency, despite what the blonde with her would have them thinking. The receptionist made a call.

"Yes, the patient is Sakura Haruno," the woman said into the phone. "Her hands are bandaged and bloody. No, she said it wasn't an emergency... Thank you."

"Well?" Sakura asked as friendly as she could. "Can someone squeeze me in?"

"Please go to room 103 and somone will be with when they can," she smiled friendly and started to greet the next anxious looking person. Sakura knew every room in the hospital, she went to the empty room and Naruto stood next to her. She took a seat on the bed and even laid down.

"Are you sure your okay Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked her.

"Not really," she said under her breath.

"What was that?" he hadn't quite heard her.

"I said Absolutely," she lied.

Naruto scratched his head, he was slightly confused. It didn't sound like what she had said but he hadn't quite heard it to begin with.

Sakura hoped it wouldn't be Tsunade who would take care of her. _Tsunade has things to do as Hokage,_ Sakura tried to tell herself, _she can't heal me all the time._

Sakura sat up when she heard the door handle turning. Her heart raced a little, _what if it is Tsunade-sama? Will she be upset?_

**I know it can seem like Sakura is being hard on herself and to be honest I can imagine her being that way if Sasuke died. **

**On a happier note, next chapter something important will be revealed. Thanks for reading! Reviews are always welcomed.**


	5. Changing

**Naruto is property of Masashi Kishimoto. **

**Forgive me if there are spelling mistakes. I've noticed some in other chapters and stories. When I'm typing there are so many words on the screen it's hard to see the little red squiggly line. I'm only human after all. Read, Enjoy, Review.**

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Sakura leaned forward to see who entered. She closed her eyes and listened, the footsteps outside, they sounded like Tsunade. The door opened and so did her eyes. It was Tsunade.

"Well well Sakura," she half smiled. "Are you disobeying orders?"

"I'm here as a patient," she sighed.

Tsunade brought up a clipboard and studied it, "I have a check up in five minutes so we'll be done by then."

"Alright," Sakura held out her bandaged hands.

"Your hands?" Tsunade asked. "What happened to them?" Genuine concern filled her voice and her eyes.

"I-" Sakura began.

"She was practicing on a tree for a very long time," Naruto chimed in. Naruto walked over to gently unwrap her hands for Tsunade. "See Granny Tsunade, please heal her hands."

Tsunade took a good look at them, they were raw bleeding and had splinters in them everywhere. "How on earth can you move them without it hurting?"

"I just don't think of it," she answered feebly.

"I don't know how you accomplish that Sakura but this has got to hurt," Tsunade gently touched he hands and she motioned for Naruto to step back. "Naruto move! I'm going to get rid of all the splinters at once, they could hit you so please move."

Tsunade sent a burst of chakra into Sakura's hands and the splinters went everywhere. Sakura's hands were left shaky but Tsunade sent soothing healing chakra waves through them. Sakura could feel the tiny holes where splinters had been knit together like it was natural. The raw parts regenerated skin and within seconds her hands were normal again. Along with the feelings.

"Where is Kakashi?" Tsunade asked Sakura. It was a question she had been dreading.

"I scared him off," she answered, fiddling with her thumbs. It was odd for her to do something so Hinata so she stopped. "I've realized something about myself that I don't like."

Tsunade and Naruto were silent and eagerly waiting.

"Here I pride myself on having grown so much," Sakura looked down. "I couldn't have grown up all that much. Look at who I am Tsunade. I fell for the guy who was a total jerk to me. The people who were nice to me, the ones who cared, I've done something to them that they don't deserve."

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said so quietly, no one caught it.

"Naruto, Rock Lee, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura listed off. "I haven't even been following your orders as well as you'd like, Tsunade-sama. It's something I would like to change."

"Sakura," Tsunade patted her head. "I think your beginning to change it already. You have the problem in sight, but really, take care of yourself. Don't make your workouts a form of self punishment. That isn't the way to grow and change, like you want."

"Yeah Sakura-chan!" Naruto chimed in again.

"By the way Naruto," Sakura turned to him, she had almost forgotten him being there. "Thank you for everything."

The smile she gave him could melt even the hardest of rock hearts.

"Not a problem Sakura-chan," he smiled back happy.

"However Sakura," Tsunade went for another topic. "I'm ordering you to not practice for awhile. Your overdoing it."

"But-" Sakura tried to protest.

"Sakura," Tsunade held up a hand to stop her. "I can feel how your muscles are growing and building strength through my chakra. However their still weak, they need proper rest before you train again. For two days, no sparing, no training, just relax."

"Relax?" Sakura felt like it sounded foreign to her. "How?"

"That will be your mission Sakura," Tsunade smiled. "I have another patient to attend to so I'll see you some other time Sakura, and Naruto."

"I'll walk you home Sakura-chan," Naruto offered.

"Thanks Naruto," Sakura smiled.

Naruto chatted with Sakura all the way home. They passed so many of their favorite places, he walked her up to the door and Sakura fumbled with her keys.

"Naruto," Sakura looked up from the keys.

"Yeah?" he answered her.

"Do you talk to Hinata much anymore?" she asked him.

"Hinata?" he sounded confused. "Sometimes."

"You should ask her out," Sakura looked at him, her eyes locked on his.

"What do you mean Sakura-chan?" he looked a little hurt and even more confused.

"I mean Naruto," Sakura began to explain things. "It's so obvious that she has liked you forever. She faints whenever your close, she always cheers for you, in her own way. Naruto she loves you, just ask her out, maybe you'll find yourself falling in love with her."

Naruto was silent but he was thinking about it. It made sense that he didn't realize before. Sakura slipped into her apartment while he was mulling everything over. She hoped that he wouldn't still like her. She was afraid that she would break his heart because she didn't feel the same way. She was afraid she'd lose one of her best friends because of it.

Something caught her eyes as she listened to Naruto's footsteps fade. The bright orange book of Kakashi's was on the couch. He had stormed off without it. Sakura picked it up. Not opening but feeling the cover and the spine of the book. She set it down and tried to pass an hour or so doing something.

She flopped onto her bed and tried and failed to fall asleep. Early in the morning Sakura got up and made coffee, really it would only hold off the sleepiness she was feeling. She looked in the fridge and decided not to eat.

On her bookshelf was something else that caught her eye. If she was going to be cooped up she might as well do something. She grabbed the baking cookbook off the shelf and flipped through the pages. She got to the muffins.

Banana nut muffins sounded good. She found all the ingredients available in her house. She set up station in her kitchen. Following the steps she also added something a little extra to give it flavor and she popped the muffins in the waiting oven.

Looking at the batter she found that it would make two batches. _I won't need that much._

She stared back at Kakashi's book in contemplation. An idea struck her. She finished the first batch of muffins and set the others in the oven. She tasted one of her own and they were good, better than good. She had a container ready for his muffins.

She set muffin after muffin into the container. She placed the book on top of it and she set off out the door. It was a good seven am. If she was lucky Kakashi would be awake. Sakura had only ever seen Kakashi's place once, it was because she had gone looking for him because he was so late. She saw him leave his apartment. She hoped it was his apartment.

She headed to where she remembered it being. The apartment door looked slightly nicer than the others. She stood at the door. Dressed in a long pink tank top, it could be considered a short dress, over black shorts and she had her tan skirt over the shorts and her signature black boots. She knocked lightly at the door and seconds later a very tired groggy Kakashi answered the door.

"Sakura?" he looked confused. "What are you doing here so early?"

"Um," Sakura hesitated. "You left your book at my place. I made muffins too. It's a thank you and I'm sorry." Sakura blushed a little, her hair was down and since she was looking at the book her hair hid her face.

"Come on in," Kakashi motioned for her to follow him inside. She pulled off her boots and slipped on a pair of slippers. Her eyes scanned everything in sight. It was his aparment, he had scrolls neatly stacked here and there. There was no mess, everything had it's place in Kakashi's apartment. The furniture was as soft and springy as if he had just bought it. His color scheme was nice, the walls were a clean color, and his sofa was an olive green. The floors were hardwood, a nice dark, rich, color. There were a few pictures on the end tables. One had people she didn't recognize but one looked like he was related to the Uchihas.

There was also the picture of team seven in it's early days, before the death of one and the addition of another. Sakura ignored that picture and when she looked up she really looked at Kakashi. He seemed timeless. Like he didn't age. He still seemed to be the same. Sakura knew that he was practically twice her age but he still seemed whatever age he had been when she was younger.

His mask was down enough to show both eyes. The Sharingan clearly visible. It didn't give her any bad feelings. She set the container down on the marble counters. Taking the lid off the smell of wonderful muffins filled his kitchen.

"Hmm," he looked up from the book. It had already found it's way to his hands. "Muffins smell good."

She handed him one and he put the book up and took his mask down.

"I'm sorry Kakashi about that comment," Sakura looked at her own muffin. She didn't eat it. She picked the edges off of it waiting for him to speak.

Kakashi had finished his muffin and pulled the mask back up, "It's not sensei anymore Sakura, and don't worry about it. You were right anyway."

"Kakashi," Sakura said. "I didn't call you sensei."

He peeked over the book. Her face was slightly red. He thought back to seconds ago. She was right, he thoughtlessly had answered the way he usually did. "Oh, I'm used to hearing you call me sensei."

"As you said," she countered. "We are equals now."

Kakashi put his book down, "Using my own words against me Sakura?"

She shut her mouth and fought the pink creeping onto her cheeks. Kakashi watched her reaction. His thoughts were simply that she never reacted this way around him before. Sakura looked at her hands. Something was bothering her. He could tell.

"What's wrong?" he reached for another muffin and picked it apart.

Sakura didn't say anything. She tried to think of something.

"I'm sorry Kakashi," she finally said. "I felt like I had grown up so much but there are so many things I have to still learn. I'm so sorry for what I said yesterday. I-I... I don't know."

Sakura's eyes were hidden by her pink hair, until he swept back a few strands so he could see her face. Her face was red. Kakashi couldn't help but think that this was the most grown up he'd ever seen her as.

"Sakura," he said softly, trying not to break her already frayed nerves. "Admitting something like that is something a child would have trouble doing. This is the most grown up I've seen you."

She chuckled and wiped away some stray tears, "You can honestly say that when I look like a mess?"

"A beautiful mess," he said without thinking. He stopped talking and Sakura had caught what he said.

"A what?" Sakura's eyes met Kakashi's and she searched for an answer to his words.

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**I decided to leave on a cliffhanger. :3 Thanks for reading, I love reviews so if you'd review it I would luvs it. **


	6. Truths Revealed

**Continuation of the cliffhanger. Naruto is property of Masashi Kishimoto.**

**Read, Enjoy, Review. I forget to post this many times in stories but the **_italics are thoughts or flashbacks._

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Sakura's jade green eyes bore into him. Seconds had passed and he had said nothing, lucky for him the mask covered the faint pink that now colored his cheeks as well. He tried to think of a proper way to answer her.

"What was it you said?" she prodded him with her comment. She had to know what he meant by that. It would bug her all night otherwise. He could see the bags under her eyes, she had little sleep and the smell of coffee that stayed in her hair told him she would be very tired soon.

"Go home and sleep Sakura," he said finally. "I have somewhere to be. Tsunade summoned me so I should get going." He covered his one eye and vanished before her very own eyes.

Sakura left the container of muffins and she let herself out. She headed home until something crossed her mind. She turned around and found her way to the Uchiha estate. She hesitated before reaching up to knock. Suddenly it opened and Itachi stood before her before she had even knocked.

"I could feel a presence at the door," he said. "What do you want?"

"I, uh, came to ask you something," she tried to calm the shaky feeling she had. It had to to do with the sleepiness she felt.

He left her at the door and waited as she kicked off her shoes and entered the house with the slippers on. Sakura was led to a sitting room where he offered her tea, she happily took it to ward off sleep for awhile longer. "I assume your question is about Sasuke, is it not?"

"Yes," she answered. She blew on the hot tea to cool it faster.

"You are not satisfied with what you've heard?" his eyes rested on hers.

"I... I don't believe it," she steadied her voice, he was intimidating but she knew what she believed. "When Lee said what he did, the look on your face, it wasn't right. Like it didn't belong there. What happened? It's all I want to know."

"Sasuke had been training more than usual," he began to explain. "He wanted to be an ANBU member, and Tsunade asked three people. She asked me and two other teachers he had before. I was the only one to ask her that he wait awhile longer."

"Why?" Sakura interrupted. She pulled out a bag of muffins that she still had leftover and she sat one down on a napkin in front of Itachi. He stared at it while he talked.

"Sasuke is different with others than he is with me," he closed his eyes to corrected himself. "Was. Was with me. He couldn't control his emotions as well around me. Tsunade made him a member despite what I said. His other teachers had said that he could overcome that in battle."

His black eyes changed when he continued, "Our mission was to destroy a beast that had been killing the children of a nearby village. They hired us and told us important details about the creature. They said their medical ninja couldn't heal the wounds that the beast would inflict. To be hit was to insure death."

Sakura nibbled on a muffin, she was getting full from how many she had eaten but she needed to busy her mouth to keep from asking questions.

"Sasuke was getting upset because his jutsu would be dispersed into nothing when he attack," he never met her eyes. "My attacks were shuriken and weapons, when his chakra shuriken were stopped dead in their tracks he got very upset, he always hated it when I could up show him. Being able to land attacks on it made him mad. He charged it without thinking and it had clawed him. He had three huge gashes on his chest. It's attack on him was just the chance I needed to kill the beast. I rushed him home to Tsunade and she couldn't heal him. Her chakra wouldn't be absorbed, it was simply dispersed like his attacks had been. Something was his his blood, something that contained it's powers still. The creature's body had turned to black ash after I slayed it."

"Leaving no trace for her to research what it was that disperses chakra," Sakura thought out loud. Her muffin was gone. His story had been long enough to giver her time to finish it, one nibbling bite at a time. "the gashes, if deep enough would have killed him. Surgery would be useless for he'd die in seconds. This must be how Tsunade-sama felt."

Sakura was imagining her sensei doing everything possible, pouring every bit of her chakra to save him, and with no results she would think of the next option. By then it was to late for the youngest of the Uchihas.

"So when you were silent when Lee said it was your fault," Sakura looked up at him. "It was a form of self punishment? You let them pin you as the bad big brother because you believe you could have tried harder to keep him from joining the ANBU?"

"He was fine on solo missions," Itachi answered. "Around me though he was more reckless. I asked for her not to send him on a mission with me. He wouldn't have it though. I pushed him away to protect him but he would never have seen it anyway."

Sakura nodded. "That sounds right, thank you Itachi-san." Sakura rose and bowed out of respect. She left him the bag of muffins. It seemed like something she was doing a lot of today.

When she opened the door to her apartment she didn't expect to see him again.

"Kakashi?" she looked confused.

"Tsunade's orders had been to continue making sure your okay," he answered. "She's very worried about you, ya know?"

"I know," Sakura looked at him, his mask was just the way he left it, covering one eyes, and in his fingerless gloved hands was the orange pervy book he loved so much. Sakura sat down on the couch, it seemed sleep had finally caught up with her. She leaned back into the corner and she drifted into a deep slumber. Kakashi had taken a blanket and covered her up. He moved her so that she was laying, and he fluffed a pillow to put beneath her soft pink hair.

He went onto her small balcony and ate a few of her delicious muffins while he read his pervy orange book.

_Sakura was standing in a clearing. Something standing before her. It was some kind of beast, it had to be the creature Itachi had told her about. Her hair was ruffled by the wind,it's eyes were closed, and it was sleeping. It didn't change the fact that it was huge. _

_The breeze carried a few cherry blossom petals around her, and then along with her sent, the petals flew past the creature's nose. It's huge white eyes opened and stared right at her. It stood up and stepped toward her. _

_She stumbled backwards and landed on her butt. She was practically paralyzed by fear. From it's fangs dripped blood and saliva, a fragment of the Uchiha symbol stuck between it's sharp teeth. Sakura watched as it swooped in for a bite of her, or more likely to swallow her whole. _

_"Sakura!" she heard Kakashi's voice. He zipped in front of her and the last thing she heard was herself scream his name. _

_Kakashi_ was shaking Sakura, at first she had been crying in her sleep and shaking. Then he had shouted her name to wake her up. She wasn't quite awake yet, but she woke up after she had yelled in name in a voice that was clearly frantic and scared. Her jade green eyes were shaky and she was pale.

Kakashi's strong hands had her shoulders in his hands. His visible eye was wide with concern.

"What?" she looked around the room disorientated.

"What kind of a dream were you having?" he asked her. He could feel her heart pounding just from where his hands were placed on her shoulders. "Sakura, it's okay, it was only a dream."

"Why would you do that?" Sakura was shaking under his hands. "Your so stupid Kakashi, why would you be stupid enough to stand in front of me like that?"

"What?" he asked her. "Stand in front of you like this?"

His voice was hurt and she shook her head, "I was about to die and you stepped in front of me before I would be killed. Why would you do that?"

He laughed, Kakashi actually laughed at Sakura. "That's what your worried about? Your dream? I would do that for anyone Sakura. You, and Naruto, Sai, any of the rookie nine that you grew up with. I would do that for you."

"You would save me from certain death," Sakura whispered. "but you can't show me your face?"

His face grew serious, she was bringing this up again.

"Fine," he sighed. "You really want to see what I look like?"

He didn't wait for her to say anything, he would change his mind if she did. Her eyes watched as he took down the mask. He had a shaky hand that pulled it down and he did it so slowly, either that or time seemed to slow for this mystery being revealed.

The mask had come completely off and Kakashi felt like he was completely naked without it, it didn't help that she was staring either. Sakura was trying to memorize each feature. The scar she always saw was longer than she thought, and she absentmindedly traced it. His face felt heated under her touch. She was staring because he was beyond beautiful, _why does he keep it hidden?_

"Kakashi," Sakura had only breathed his name and he was about to pull up the mask, the embarrassment clear as a sunny day on his face. "Wait!" she put her hands on his to stop him.

"Why do you cover it?" she asked. "Here team seven had always imagine you were hiding something horrible, but..."

His face grew more red, "But what Sakura?"

Seeing his lips move and not be under a mask was an amazing thing to her, "You look..." Sakura couldn't finish, it was almost like the comment he made to her earlier.

_"Sakura," he said softly, trying not to break her already frayed nerves. "Admitting something like that is something a child would have trouble doing. This is the most grown up I've seen you." _

_She chuckled and wiped away some stray tears, "You can honestly say that when I look like a mess?"_

_"A beautiful mess," he said without thinking. He stopped talking and she had caught what he said. _

_"A what?" Sakura's eyes met Kakashi's and she searched for an answer to his words._

"You don't need to hide your face Kakashi," she finally said. "You look way better without it. Trust me."

He wanted to, to trust her. He was at his most vulnerable right now with her hands on his, his mask still off, and he wondered how she could be so like him. _How can she be so comforting when I'm at my most vulnerable? _

Kakashi smiled a bit and spoke, "See Sakura your more like a-"

"A beautiful mess?" she repeated what he had said earlier. She was determined to talk to him face to mask less face to determine why he had said it. He reached for the mask but she stopped him.

"Kakashi?" she asked. "Did you mean it?"

"Sakura please," he tugged at the mask, her strength was at the moment a little irritating to him.

"Kakashi! That isn't fair!" she held her hands on the mask with more strength. "Why is it that you get to see my reaction to anything but you can hide your face whenever you want?"

"Sakura!" he was struggling with her now. He leaned back and she lean forward to keep her grip in the mask. They were falling off the couch and Kakashi's head would have hit and possibly broke her coffee table so she twisted a bit and they landed to the side of the coffee table, she was still holding onto the mask and he was trying to pull it up. He could think clearly if his face was covered.

"Sakura let go!" he ordered.

"No!" she was being stubborn, she hadn't realized how she was positioned and he didn't notice either. She was sitting on him, but both were to concerned with the mask itself to worry about how she was sitting. With some burst of strength Kakashi ended up bolting up and she fell over, her fists were clenched onto the fabric of his mask. If she couldn't keep it off him at least it would be too stretched out for him to wear.

"Sakura!" he went down with her because he was trying to keep his mask intact. He was loosing this fight. He tried to pry her white knuckled fingers from his mask. "Please." he practically begged.

"Why Kakashi?" she was going for the counter attack. "You look handsome without it on!"

Sakura's hair was sticking to her face and neck, this little episode was making her sweat, he was really trying to take it back. Kakashi pulled harder and she had to sit up to keep her grip on it, she was sent into a sitting position faster than expected when he gave a good tug on the mask. Her hands finally slipped on their hold of the mask. She was still moving before he had the chance to process that he had gotten it free from her grasp.

Her face hit Kakashi's but more fatefully her lips had smashed into his before either could realize it.

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**Guess I left another cliffhanger. Bwhahaha! *cough, cough* uh, yeah. **

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to leave a review on the way out! **


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